In a study published in the June 2014 issue of Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, van der Kolk and colleagues compare Sixty-four women with chronic, treatment-resistant post traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) who were randomly assigned to either trauma-informed yoga or supportive women’s health education, each as a weekly 1-hour class for 10 weeks. At the end of the study, 16 of 31 participants (52%) in the yoga group no longer met criteria for PTSD compared to 6 of 29 (21%) in the control group (n = 60, χ²₁ = 6.17, P = .013). Both groups exhibited a significant decrease in PTSD symptoms during the first half of treatment, but these improvements were maintained in the yoga group, while the control group relapsed after its initial improvement. The authors suggest that yoga may improve the functioning of traumatized individuals by helping them to tolerate physical and sensory experiences associated with fear and helplessness and to increase emotional awareness and affect tolerance.
Serge Sevy, MD 